Japanese parliament members urge PM to retract erroneous remarks on China's Taiwan
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi recently made erroneous remarks about China's Taiwan during a hearing in the Diet, prompting parliament members to demand that she retract those remarks.
Japanese Communist Party and House of Councillors member Taku Yamazoe said Friday that Takaichi's remarks had exacerbated tensions between Japan and China and led to mutual distrust. To prevent further deterioration of bilateral relations, Takaichi, as prime minister, should retract her statements, Shimbun Akahata reported on Saturday.
Japanese Communist Party and House of Representatives member Kazuo Shii demanded once again on Friday that Takaichi retract her remarks. He said that Takaichi's remarks on Taiwan are evolving into a serious international issue, stressing that for Japan-China relations to develop in a positive direction, it is necessary to pursue the course based on consensus determined by both countries, by wisdom and calm dialogue, rather than making provocative remarks that further escalate tensions.
Israeli PM, Russian president discuss Middle East issues over phone
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a phone conversation on Saturday evening, during which the two leaders exchanged views on the Middle East situation, according to statements from both sides.
Netanyahu's office said in a statement that the two leaders spoke at Putin's initiative, following a series of previous talks on regional issues. It did not provide further information on the talks.
Iran confirms seized oil tanker in Gulf over "violations"
Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said on Saturday that its naval forces have seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker off the country's southern Makran coast along the Gulf of Oman over unspecified "violations."
The oil tanker, the Talara, was tracked and seized by the IRGC Navy's rapid-reaction forces on Friday at 7:30 a.m. local time (0400 GMT) following an order from Iran's judicial authorities and after its movements were monitored, according to a statement published by the IRGC's official news outlet, Sepah News.
9 killed, 32 injured in Indian-controlled Kashmir police station explosion
At least nine people were killed and 32 others injured after a pile of recovered explosives exploded at a police station in the Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said Saturday.
The massive explosion took place late Friday at Nowgam police station in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.
According to the region's Police Chief Nalin Prabhat, nine people have died in the accident, with 32 others injured, adding that the nature of the blast was accidental and took place while handling the confiscated explosives for taking samples for forensic examination.
DR Congo, M23 rebels sign framework agreement toward peace deal
Qatar on Saturday announced the signing of a framework agreement between the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the March 23 Movement (M23) rebel group, marking a new step toward a long-awaited peace deal aimed at ending the conflict in eastern DRC.
In a statement, Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the agreement builds on the momentum of the Declaration of Principles signed by the two sides on July 19. It reaffirms their commitment to addressing the root causes of the conflict through structured dialogue, confidence-building measures, and a phased approach to de-escalation and stabilization.
Fitch upgrades Greece's credit rating to BBB
Fitch Ratings upgraded Greece's long-term credit rating to BBB from BBB-, citing accelerated debt reduction, strong fiscal performance, and resilient economic growth, the Greek official news agency AMNA reported Saturday.
In an announcement released late Friday, Fitch said Greece is on track to reduce its debt ratio by nearly 20 percentage points over 2024-2025, with the level expected to approach 120 percent of gross domestic product by 2030.■
